Smoke generating compositions



United States Patent Ofllice 3,314,835 SMOKE GENERATING COMPOSITIONS George Thomas White and Lewis Robert Rothstein, Asheville, N.'C., assignors, by mesne assignments, to Northrop Carolina, Inc., Swannanoa, N.C., a corporation of North Carolina No Drawing. Filed Apr. 20, 1965, Ser. No. 449,625 4 Claims. (Cl. 149-23) This invention dyestuffs, insecticides, herbicides, physiological agents and other similar materials, and more particularly relates to a novel propellant composition for use in disseminating these materialsv Smoke and other similar types of materials have been disseminated in gasiform for many years. A common commercial composition of the propellant for such dissemination is potassium chlorate, sugar or sulfur and a coolant such as sodium bicarbonate. Other compositions have been suggested for this use, such potassium chlorate, ammonium nidine derivatives.

It has now been found that pounds can be used tion of the above efiicient manner.

The use of novel propellant according to this invention produces a total composition which is much less costly and less hazardous to prepare than those which have been used in the past. Further, these novel propellants have been found to be generally more compatible with the materials to be dispersed than those used in the past.

According to this invention, the novel propellant material consists essentially of one or more nitro-substituted a certain class of comas the propellant for the disseminareferred to materials in an extremely methylene trinitramine, 2,4,6-trinitro resorcinol, trinitro toluene, cycloetetramethylene tetranitramine and trinitrophenol.

Specific examples of metals which are useful in this invention include sodium, potassium, calcium, barium and magnesium. These may be introduced into the composition as a base, such as the hydroxide, acetate, etc., or may have been previously reacted with the cyclic nitro-substituted explosive referred to above to produce the metal salts thereof.

ethane and l-naphthyl-N-methyl carbamate.

Examples of physiological agents useful in this invention are diphenylaminechloroarsine and orthochlorobenzalmalonitrile.

According to this invention, compositions adapted to be used for the dissemination of the various materials set forth above are prepared by admixing the propellant, the material to be carried and, if desired, a lacquer. This mixture is pelletized by standard techniques, such as compression or casting,

and the pellet ignited as such. The

relates to the dissemination of smoke,-

3,314,835 Patented Apr. 18, 1967 mixing and/ or pelletizing.

In the following examples, parts and percentages are by weight unless specifically expressed to the contrary.

Example 1 sulting beads. was pelletized. Ignition of these pellets produced a gasiform composition containing orthochlorobenzalmalonitrile in an active form.

Example 2 Example 3 50 parts of sodium picrate were admixed dry with 50 parts red dye and the resulting mixture pelletized. Ignition of these pellets produced a large volume of red smoke.

Example 4 About 50 parts of sodium picrate were admixed with about 50 parts of a violet dyestuff, a yellow dyestuff, a green dyestuif, methyl benzylate. Ignition of the pellets produced from these mixes gave respectively a violet smoke, a yellow smoke, a green smoke, a white smoke.

Example 5 About 50 parts of sodium picrate were mixed with about 50 parts of 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl) ethane and 50 parts of l-naphthyl-N-methyl carbamate, respectively, and pelletized. Ignition of the resulting pellets gave voluminous clouds of smoke presumed to contain a large percentage of finely divided particles of active insecticide in each case.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A composition adapted to be ignited to produce a cyclotrimethylene trinitramine, 2,4,6-trinitro resorcinol, trinitrotoluene, cyclotetrarnethylene tetranitramine, and tn'nitrophenol, and a metal base selected from the group References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/ 1954 Hutchison l49-92 7/ 1962 Jacobi et al 149-92 CARL D. QUARFORTH, Primary Examiner. BENJAMIN R. PADGETT, Examiner. S. J. LECHERT, 111., Assistant Examiner. 

1. A COMPOSITION ADAPTED TO BE IGNITED TO PRODUCE A DISSEMINATED GASIFORM MATERIAL COMPRISING A CARRIED MATERIAL SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF VOLATILE DYESTUFFS, HERBICIDES, INSECTICIDES, AND PHYSIOLOGICAL AGENTS AND A PROPELLANT CONSISTING ESSENTAILLY OF AN EXPLOSIVE CYCLIC COMPOUND SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF CYCLOTRIMETHYLENE TRINITRAMINE, 2,4,6-TRINITRO RESORCINOL, TRINITROLUENE, CYCLOTETRAMETHYLENE TETRANITRAMINE, AND TRINITROPHENOL, AND A METAL BASE SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF HYDROXIDES AND SALTS OF ALKALI AND ALKALINE EARTH METALS. 